What can the GAA do to resurrect an interest in Intercounty Football?

Started by From the Bunker, June 20, 2018, 07:47:01 PM

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Targetman

Champions league style 8 groups of 4, sorry New York you're out!!  and stop Dessie Dolan from analysing along with Tommy Carr!!

Dubhaltach

Quote from: sam03/05 on June 20, 2018, 09:23:41 PM
I'd say interest in the games has never been as high as we will see come super 8s in the next few weeks - will be non stop high quality games with big crowds and massive media coverage
Won't be a word about interest then I'd say.

True. The evidence shows us that there has never been more of an interest in intercounty football. There has however been a decline in interest in the provincial championships. A quick look at last years attendances shows this.

Quarter final double header 1- 82,000 sell out.
Quarter final double header 2- 65,746

Semi Final- Dublin v Tyrone-82,000 sell out
Semi Final-Mayo v Kerry-66,195
Replay-53,032

I remember going to the Mayo v Kerry Semi final in 96 and they didn't even manage to get 30,000 through the gates.

CumminsCiderLarry

Divide the dubs into 6.
All kickouts must cross the 45 yard line.
After every 5 handpasses the ball must be kicked.
Take the dubs out of croker.
Up and coming referres should be umpires instead of referees bringing lads that cant see their toes.
Referees living in dublin shouldn't be allowed referee dub games.
bring in the sin bin.
make games 13 a side

From the Bunker

Quote from: sam03/05 on June 20, 2018, 09:23:41 PM
I'd say interest in the games has never been as high as we will see come super 8s in the next few weeks - will be non stop high quality games with big crowds and massive media coverage
Won't be a word about interest then I'd say.

Yes, just like Tyrone were going to teach us all a lesson in how to tame Dublin last summer! The media hyped ye up to the nth! They had to look to somebody that might derail Dublin, sell tickets, sell bets, sell papers and sell advertising. The Mayo and Kerry hype was all used up at that stage!

Farrandeelin

Quote from: From the Bunker on June 20, 2018, 07:47:01 PM
What can the GAA do to resurrect an interest in Intercounty Football?

Get Fermanagh to the Ulster final every now and again.
Inaugural Football Championship Prediction Winner.

haranguerer

Quote from: Captain Obvious on June 20, 2018, 08:07:22 PM
Cheerleaders.

I assume this is said tongue in cheek, but they really do need to look at turning it into a day out. The band and kids playing is a load of shite, and spare me the sanctimony of 'think of the children...'

Look elsewhere for ht entertainments - something ppl will actually enjoy, kicking competitions, that sort of stuff

Hound

Quote from: Jinxy on June 20, 2018, 08:49:47 PM
Quote from: mrdeeds on June 20, 2018, 08:18:05 PM
You haven't said what the problem is.

The sport is rubbish to watch now.
Still a lot better than it's number 1 competitor here, soccer.

World Cup has been largely mindnumbingly boring. Bar Spain-Portugal, which was great and Mexico upsetting the Germans, which was interesting.

Yesterday was typical. Three 1-0 wins for the favourites. ~Yawn inducing

mup

On a personal level I haven't attended an inter-county game for 5/6 years. I cannot see myself attending one in the near future. That's from a person who used to go to most games. There is no point in posting the reasons here as it's been done to death.

For whats it's worth the Champions League type format has to be considered. It needs a shake up. Hurling is getting all the plaudits at the moment and rightly so.

Keyser soze

Quote from: Targetman on June 20, 2018, 09:28:44 PM
Champions league style 8 groups of 4, sorry New York you're out!!  and stop Dessie Dolan from analysing along with Tommy Carr!!

Sure the Champions league group stages are a complete load of shite, nobody other than supporters of the teams involved watches them and the teams qualifying are a foregone conclusion.

The rest of it makes sense though.

Jinxy

Maybe the Super 8s will inject a bit of life into the championship, but if the actual entertainment value doesn't improve, the novelty will wear off pretty quickly.
I still watch the football because I'm conditioned to watch the football, however, lately I've found myself wishing there was hurling on instead.
If you were any use you'd be playing.

armaghniac

Quote from: mup on June 21, 2018, 09:30:55 AM
On a personal level I haven't attended an inter-county game for 5/6 years. I cannot see myself attending one in the near future. That's from a person who used to go to most games. There is no point in posting the reasons here as it's been done to death.

For whats it's worth the Champions League type format has to be considered. It needs a shake up. Hurling is getting all the plaudits at the moment and rightly so.

Hurling is getting plaudits for the group format because the Munster hurling teams are well matched, hence the draws in games with 40 scores. You really couldn't be sure who would win many of these games until the final whistle.
If at first you don't succeed, then goto Plan B

Rossfan

Indeed.
Meanwhile most people could predict  which 3 would qualify in Leinster. All that was at issue was which 2 would make the Final.
Somebody asked what are the problems in football. ...

Awful endless slow sideways handpassing and defensive borefests
Same team winning everything
No new teams breaking through
About 20 of the 29 Provincial games are one sided
Leinster and Munster SFCs basically pointless and meaningless
About 15 or 16 of the  Qualifiers games something similar.
Davy's given us a dream to cling to
We're going to bring home the SAM

smelmoth

Quote from: mup on June 21, 2018, 09:30:55 AM
For whats it's worth the Champions League type format has to be considered. It needs a shake up. Hurling is getting all the plaudits at the moment and rightly so.

The champions league style format in football would be the opposite to what is happening in hurling at the moment.

Hurling is entertaining AND competitive. Imagine in there was a 32 team champions league in hurling? The majority of games would be absolute drubbings and no body would suggest it. The case is football would be less extreme but still very extreme. A complete turn off to the audience.

We have to remember that in the early stages most games are not televised. Therefore the audience is the partisan attendees and those who find some partisan local radio station covering the game. They want their team to win and to have a chance of winning. It would also help if they have a prospect of going deep onto the competition and not be fodder for some annihilation down the line when they meet the big boys.

Late on the games are all televised and the total audience is vastly bigger than the fans attending in the stadium or indeed the overall viewership from the 2 competing counties. For that audience to be sustained and broadcasters to remain interested the game needs to be entertaining.

On this basis its not just format changes that need to looked at but rule changes in the game itself.

We can look at players, broadcasters, pundits, referees, officials and no doubt  there are issues there to be addressed but I think the main issues negatively impacting our game today originate with coaches and those who appoint them. I love gaelic football and spend a huge amount of time following it, now and for the foreseeable time purely as a spectator. I fully appreciate that there a lots of people investing their time in the game freely (and some not so freely) so the reaction to what I am saying is probably obvious (i.e. why dont I do something to change it?) but my genuine concern is that down the line we end up with a game that is not that enjoyable to watch, not that enjoyable to play and then County X can win all they like but nobody will care. At some stage you will have to relook at the direction of travel and hopefully before we have gone to much further.

The Super 8s generate a minimum of 15 games. There could be a couple of dead rubbers or hammerings in that but by and large they will generate big attendances and viewership and someone will have a plan for spending the consequent revenues. My argument is that is not a successful model if at the same time young fellas in every county with no chance of making their county panel drift out of the game in bigger numbers so that clubs do not become viable and club football standards drop further away from inter-county elites or that county level footballers in counties that just arent going to make the Super8s or are never going to be more than cannon fodder also give up on the game or county representation. These might be unintended consequences of current competition formats and game rules but as (at least potential) consequences they are so obvious and so serious that we need to look at them now.

From what I can see the primary motivation in the game is fear. Fear of losing the ball, fear of conceding scores, fear of losing the match, fear of taking a hammering, fear of not appealing a decision because everyone else is doing that, fear of not paying a manager because we would be only ones not doing it, fear of not winter training because everyone else will be sneakily doing it, fear of taking a risk and showing some skill because the manager wants regimented soldiers

Its a long way from freedom, enjoyment, skill and dare I say entertainment.

We keep going the way we are we will have a game that appeals to the few and not the many.

Under Lights

Run the AI series once every four years like the WC. Just league all other years.

BennyCake

Quote from: sam03/05 on June 20, 2018, 09:23:41 PM
I'd say interest in the games has never been as high as we will see come super 8s in the next few weeks - will be non stop high quality games with big crowds and massive media coverage
Won't be a word about interest then I'd say.

Super 8 games will be packed no matter the teams or the football they play. Going to big games is more of an experience now, like festivals and concerts. It's the thing to be going to, and to be seen going to.

A few big games in August always disguises the fact that the c'ship up until then is a pile of piss.